Google Chat bot appears and webhook works, but no replies and channel logs stay empty

[alpine raptor]

Hi, I’m setting up Google Chat on OpenClaw 2026.4.12 (Docker) and I’m stuck at the last mile.

Confirmed:

• channels.googlechat enabled
• service account configured
• audienceType=project-number and audience is set
• Google Chat app is Live
• common HTTP endpoint URL is set to https://<my-domain>/googlechat
• public HTTPS works
• GET /googlechat returns 405
• internal POST {} returns 400 invalid payload
• openclaw channels status --probe says: enabled, configured, running, dm:open, works
• openclaw doctor --non-interactive ends with: Google Chat: ok

Observed behavior:

• bot appears in Google Chat
• I can send it messages
• it never replies
• openclaw channels logs --channel googlechat returns no lines
• openclaw logs --follow shows no new googlechat lines when sending a DM

Has anyone seen this pattern before?
I’m trying to determine whether this is:

1. a Google Chat app event delivery/config issue
2. a known OpenClaw googlechat quirk
3. or a version-specific bug in 2026.4.12

[reef sorrel]

To help others find answers, you can mark your question as solved via Right click solution message -> Apps -> ✅ Mark Solution

[alpine raptor]

More context:

What I’m trying to do
I want Google Chat connected to OpenClaw so the bot can receive a DM and reply normally in the same chat.

What happens instead
The bot appears in Google Chat and accepts messages visually, but it never replies. There is no explicit in-chat error. On the OpenClaw side, I do not see googlechat channel activity when I send a DM.

What I ran / changed
OpenClaw Google Chat config:

• channels.googlechat.enabled = true
• serviceAccountFile is set
• audienceType = "project-number"
• audience is set
• webhookPath = "/googlechat"

I temporarily changed dm.policy from pairing to open to remove pairing as a variable.

Public setup:

• Docker-based OpenClaw on a DigitalOcean droplet
• Caddy reverse proxy exposing only /googlechat
• https://<my-domain>/googlechat is the public endpoint
• / intentionally returns 404

Validation already done

• public GET /googlechat returns 405 Method Not Allowed
• internal POST {} to webhook returns 400 invalid payload
• openclaw channels status --probe says Google Chat is enabled/configured/running/dm:open/works
• openclaw doctor --non-interactive ends with Google Chat: ok

Environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.4.12
• Install method: Docker
• Host: DigitalOcean droplet
• Public HTTPS via Caddy
• Google Chat app is Live
• Common HTTP endpoint URL is configured
• Interactive features are enabled

Relevant logs / signals

• openclaw channels logs --channel googlechat --lines 200 --json returns "lines": []
• openclaw logs --follow shows no new googlechat lines when I send a DM
• tcpdump suggests traffic from Google hits the droplet on 443 around message time
• the container also appears to make outbound connections to Google right after that

So it feels like infra/public webhook is working and OpenClaw thinks Google Chat is healthy, but actual message events are not surfacing in channel logs and no reply is produced.

[alpine raptor]

@analog tree @copper locust What do you think?

[alpine raptor]

Hello!! @analog tree @copper locust please help!

[analog tree]

Yep — this smells pre-agent / inbound webhook, not model/session.

Two important tells:

• GET /googlechat -> 405 and local POST {} -> 400 only prove the route exists; Google sends a signed POST, so the real question is what Google gets back.
• channels status --probe can still say “works” because Google Chat probing mostly proves config/outbound, not that Google’s inbound webhook is being accepted. There’s a recent Google Chat issue where inbound auth rejects returned silent 401s with no useful OpenClaw log line. That was fixed/merged Apr 24, 2026, after 2026.4.12. (github.com)

I’d triage like this:

1. Check your reverse proxy / tunnel access log while sending a DM.

   • No POST /googlechat at all → Google Chat app delivery/config issue.
   • POST /googlechat with 401 → likely Google Chat webhook auth/audience/principal mismatch; 2026.4.12 may hide the reason.
   • POST /googlechat with 200/202 but no reply → then look at pairing/DM policy/session routing.

2. Since you’re on 2026.4.12, try a temporary upgrade/pinned test to a build containing the Google Chat auth logging fix. It should turn the silent failure into a WARN like “webhook auth rejected: …”, without changing successful behavior. (github.com)

3. For your current config: with audienceType=project-number, double-check audience is the numeric Cloud project number, not project ID/name/URL. Also make sure your proxy forwards the Authorization: Bearer ... header untouched. The docs note Google signs webhook POSTs and OpenClaw verifies them against audienceType + audience. (docs.openclaw.ai)